buck@NRL-CSS@sri-unix.UUCP (08/17/83)
From: Joe Buck <buck@NRL-CSS>
We've heard on this list that we should consider flamers and bigots
less than human. But doesn't Minsky's frame theory suggest that
prejudice is simply a natural by-product of the way our minds work?
When we enter a new situation, we access a "script" containing default
assumptions about the situation. If the default assumptions are
"sticky" (don't change to agree with newly obtained information), the
result is prejudice.
When I say "doctor", a picture appears in your mind, often quite
detailed, containing default assumptions about sex, age, physical
appearance, etc. In some people, these assumptions are more firmly
held than in others. Might some AI programs designed along these
lines show phenomena resembling human prejudice?
Joe Buck
buck@nrl-css